TRAVELING AROUND THE WORLD: Our Tales of Delights and Disasters by Shelley Row

and moss-covered rocks made the walking slow and tricky. But it was beautiful. We walked through a forest of Norfolk pines with their fingers of needles tiered up the tall trunks. My dad was in Hawaii with the Air Force years ago. I remember him talking about the Norfolk pines. He loved them so much that he bought a small one that my mother tried desperately to keep alive in a pot in our den. I understand why he loved them and I also understand why that little tree wasn’t happy in Central Texas. Here, the wind blew through these trees. It was so different from the wind in the pines of Cotignac. This was a deeper, roaring sound as the heavy trees swayed. There was also ironwood or Australian Pines with droopy, eight-inch-long long needles. While we walked, Mike and I were caught in a heavy downpour that made the already slick trail even slicker. Between steps, we tried to appreciate the rain in the forest. Those eight-inch-long needles captured the rain so that a small drop hung on the tip of each needle and sparkled in the light. It was like a pine-tree chandelier. It was lovely until you walked into it and all those drops dumped on head, shoulders or back. He and I were drenched by the time we returned.
     
    Our last day, we drove around the island, past the volcanoes of Koko, Diamond Head and Punchbowl to our hotel by the airport. Due to our early morning flight to Los Angeles, we chose to stay nearby that night. It was a very good decision. Thankfully, Mike turned on the news after dinner to learn of the huge earthquake that had struck in the waters off the coast of Japan. The footage of the tsunami that hit Japan in the quake’s aftermath was unbelievable. And – the tsunami was making its way through the Pacific Ocean with Hawaii in its path. (Let me just pause to say – I am done with disasters – government overthrows, earthquakes and now a tsunami. Done. ) So we sat, powerless, in the hotel room and watched the news for hours. A six-foot, sustained wave of water was predicted for all of the Hawaiian Islands. It was expected to hit at 3 am. In the meantime, the tsunami warning sirens sounded every hour starting at 10 pm until 2:40 am. People in low-lying areas designated as evacuation zones were evacuated immediately for higher ground. Unable to access the evacuation zone maps with the hotel’s slow Internet connection, Mike asked the hotel staff. Thankfully, we were not in an evacuation area, plus we were on the fourth floor. Nonetheless, we were a half-mile from the airport which is directly on the coast.
     
    All was probably fine, but, once again, it was unnerving. Just as I would fall asleep – with our clothes lying at the end of the bed – the siren would go off with a loud wail. The road in front of the hotel was closed, the Governor was on the TV from the emergency management center, and the spokesperson from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center was giving updates every half-hour. Another sleepless night. At 3 am, we watched the camera for Waikiki Beach that was broadcast from the traffic management center. And, we saw… nothing. There was a bit of water rise but that’s all. There was still danger as the energy from the tsunami was not fully dissipated, but it wasn’t to be the big event as predicted. Thankfully . Barb’s house was in an evacuation area. We were not able to reach her; however, she told us about the previous tsunami-warning last year. She evacuated to high ground then, so we were confident she did the same this time. I talked to her later and she and her house were fine, although she had a stressful night.
     
    The next morning, we flew to Los Angeles for the weekend with Mike’s daughter, Linnea. We had a wonderful time with her, got much needed sleep, ate great food, and – there were no earthquakes!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011
    Back in the USA
    We’re back. I can no long ignore that fact. Technically, we were in the U.S. once we landed in Hawaii. But Hawaii has that delightful